Design For Deconstruction Research Articles

Enhancing circularity of wood waste through deconstruction in building sector

Although existing literature extensively explores recycling and reuse in construction and demolition waste, there is a notable gap in research specifically focused on wood waste circulation through design for deconstruction (DfD). This paper presents a comprehensive literature review, examining 41 studies to explore three major aspects of wood waste circulation: its environmental, economic, and social impacts; the reuse of deconstructed wood materials; and the challenges and recommendations for future wood waste circulation through DfD. The review reveals a more than 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through wood material reuse and recycling, highlighting the significant environmental benefits of deconstruction and material recovery across various regions and scenarios. The social impacts include job creation, community engagement, educational opportunities, and cultural preservation, further demonstrating the holistic benefits of deconstruction. The economic impacts are mixed due to varying labor, disposal costs, and salvage values. Identified research gaps include labor intensity, economic, technical and social barriers, policy constraints, and quality issues of reclaimed wood. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research, emphasizing the need for policy refinement, innovative deconstruction techniques, interdisciplinary collaboration network, and market expansion strategies to enhance the adoption of sustainable construction practices in the wood industry.

Mechanical carbon emission assessment during prefabricated building deconstruction based on BIM and multi-objective optimization

Machinery operation is a major source of carbon emissions in building deconstruction. Early intervention through Design for Deconstruction (DfD) is crucial for emission reduction, yet the factors influencing these emissions are underexplored. This study integrates parametric BIM with multi-objective optimization (MOO) to assess mechanical carbon emissions in deconstruction. Using the Octopus solver in Grasshopper for Rhino, the study analyzes independent variables—possible working hours (PWH), vertical speed (VS), and horizontal speed (HS)—and dependent variables—minimum mechanical carbon emissions (MCE (min)), minimum deconstruction period (DP (min)), and maximum working efficiency (WE (max)). A lightweight steel roof truss structure is analyzed, comparing real-world deconstruction with optimized DfD schemes. Sensitivity analysis for BIM-MOO optimized results reveal that: (1) Adjusting PWH, VS, and HS significantly affects WE and DP, though with limited impact on carbon emissions; (2) VS influences WE and DP more than HS; (3) Limiting DP is essential for balancing WE, DP, and MCE, with WE adjusted to 20–60% and modifications to PWH and VS achieving balanced management. This study underscores the importance of early design and real-time adjustments for efficient, low-emission deconstruction, supporting the advancement of green building practices.

Design for steel structures deconstruction: an analytics system for construction waste minimization in a circular economy through BIM technology

This study focuses on shifting from traditional demolition methods to more sustainable deconstruction procedures in the steel structures building sector, specifically through Design for Deconstruction (DfD) techniques. The aim is to identify factors for BIM for deconstruction (BIMfD) implementation in Egypt’s construction industry and create a BIM-based Deconstructability Assessment Score (BIM-DAS). A literature review is conducted to determine the design principles for effective building deconstruction, the performance evaluation of DfD, and existing views on BIM implementation. The development of the BIM-DAS & SP includes mathematical modelling rooted in material demand planning. The model was implemented in Building Information Modelling (BIM) environment and it was tested using a case study design. Custom parameters related to deconstruction are added and used in the mathematical model to calculate DAS and salvage performance (SP), followed by a questionnaire and analytical hierarchy process analysis. These findings highlight demountable connections and reusable components as crucial drivers of DfD. Also, the results show that the key variables affecting BIMfD deployment include the availability and acceptance of BIM tools for deconstruction technology among industry professionals, and collaboration between project design and deconstruction teams through integrated platforms. This study demonstrates the usefulness of BIM-DAS and SP as indicators of efficient disassembly of buildings. This study will benefit all stakeholders in designing steel structure deconstruction by providing baseline specifications and a hierarchical model for implementing the BIMfD using current software tools. The results provide the needed technological support for developing tools for BIM-compliant DfD tools in Egypt to encourage deconstruction.

Key attributes of designers’ competencies for design-for-deconstruction implementation

Successfully integrating design for deconstruction (DfD) principles into the construction industry will require articulated design guides and designers’ competencies. This calls for understanding the attributes of designers’ competencies essential for effective DfD implementation. This study explored the attributes of designers’ competencies for DfD implementation in the Ghanaian construction industry. The study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed-design method with an initial qualitative data collection phase followed by a quantitative data collection phase. Responses from the qualitative phase (through interviews) were thematically analysed, while data obtained from the quantitative phase were analysed using mean scores and standard deviations, the normalised value test and the Mann–Whitney U test. The study identified ten attributes of designers’ competencies for DfD implementation. The four key competencies were identified as, in order of importance, proper expertise and motivation, designers’ knowledge of material quality and durability, strong understanding of construction and effective coordination of element and component dimensions. The results of this study shed light on a less explored aspect of competencies for DfD implementation in the construction sector, particularly in the global south. It provides fresh data and new insights into the attributes of designers’ competencies for DfD implementation.

Examining the barriers to implementing design for deconstruction in the construction industry of a developing country

Purpose Despite endeavors to alleviate construction and demolition waste and the indications that the process of deconstruction has the potential to steer waste reduction initiatives, there has not been a progressive increase in the adoption of Design for Deconstruction (DfD) in the global south, especially Ghana. This paper aims to identify and analyze the barriers to implementing DfD in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire survey was used to solicit the views of 240 design professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI). The questionnaire was developed by reviewing pertinent literature and complemented with a pilot review. Data were analyzed using descriptive and nonparametric statistics. Findings The findings revealed ten (10) significant impediments to implementing DfD within the construction industries in developing economies. These impediments revolve around cost, legal matters, storage, incentive and design-related matters. Key among these barriers is “For recovered materials, there are little performance guarantees,” “The absence of strict regulations regarding design for deconstruction,” “Lack of a large market enough for components that have been recovered,” “The need for building codes that address how to design with reused materials” and “Lack of effective design for deconstruction tools.” Originality/value The results of this research shed light on a relatively unexplored area within the construction sector, particularly in a developing country like Ghana. Furthermore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study contributes fresh and supplementary knowledge and perspectives regarding the challenges in implementing DfD practices.

Drivers for design for deconstruction (DfD) implementation among design professionals

PurposeThe design for deconstruction (DfD) technique, a contemporaneous solution to demolition by optimizing disassembly activities to enable reuse, has recently emerged with several promises to promote the circular economy. However, little attention has been given to its implementation among design professionals, especially in the Global South. Therefore, this study aims to explore the drivers for DfD implementation among design professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI).Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a mixed research approach (explanatory sequential design) with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. Data from the survey were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, one-sample t-Test, and normalization value (NV) test after a review of pertinent literature. These data were then validated through semistructured interviews with ten design professionals with in-depth knowledge of DfD.FindingsThe findings revealed that although all ten drivers are important, the eight key drivers for the DfD implementation were identified as, in order of importance, “Availability of computer software applications regarding DfD,” “Inclusion of DfD in the formal education of design professionals,” “Increasing public awareness of the concept of DfD,” “Organizing workshops/seminars for design professionals on the concept of DfD,” “Availability of DfD training,” “Regulation regarding DfD,” “Industry guidance regarding DfD” and “Establishing a market for salvaged construction components.”Originality/valueThis study's findings provide insights into an under-investigated topic in Ghana and offer new and additional information and insights into the current state-of-the-art on the factors that drive DfD implementation.

Integration of BIM and design for deconstruction to improve circular economy of buildings

Faced with the environmental impacts caused by civil construction, including the large consumption of resources and waste generation, the reuse of materials and construction elements in project's early stage is considered as a possible solution in this research, which draws on theoretical reference of Open Building and Circular Economy. In this way, integrated to these approaches, the concept of Design for Deconstruction (DfD) for the design of buildings addresses the elaboration of the project with the final objective of dismantling buildings, in a partial or total way, allowing and increasing material recycling and mainly the reuse of constructive elements in the circular construction chain. However, despite the knowledge developed about DfD, the application of this concept is still incipient and the deconstruction practice remains unsatisfactory and still can be improved in many ways. The operationalization DfD in a BIM environment has the benefit of supporting the design process and subsequent deconstruction management. In this regard, the aim of this study is to propose a solution to expand the practice of deconstruction through the use of a BIM tool in buildings design, implemented in Autodesk Revit using Dynamo. To validate the artefact, a case study was conducted.

Design for Deconstruction: Benefits, Challenges, and Outlook for Timber–Concrete Composite Floors

Design for deconstruction (DfD) considers the end-of-life scenario of buildings at an early design stage to ensure that these buildings (or parts of the buildings) can be deconstructed without unproportional effort and material loss. After deconstruction, the elements or materials can be used for future purposes such as reusing (preferably), remanufacturing, or recycling. This opinion paper is aimed to advocate for DfD in timber–concrete composite (TCC) floors as it represents an important contribution toward circular economy design and creates a more sustainable built environment. Different end-of-life scenarios for TCC floors according to their original design and connection type were initially explored. Existing deconstructable connection systems that could enable DfD in TCC floors were reviewed. Furthermore, potential challenges relating to the implementation of DfD in TCC floors are briefly highlighted. Finally, a discussion around the outlook and actions that might be needed to address some of the identified challenges is provided. This paper proposes directions for future developments and contributes to the understanding and promotion of DfD in TCC floors with an emphasis on deconstructable connectors that can enable material recovery and reuse as the preferred end-of-life scenario.

Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) and Design for Deconstruction (DfD) in the Construction Industry: Challenges, Trends and Developments

A building faces several challenges across its lifecycle stages. Challenges such as production inefficiency and inadequate waste management hinder advancement in the construction industry. Furthermore, the sector has emerged as one of the largest producers of waste in the world, which can lead to detrimental impacts on the economy and the environment. Conventional approaches are insufficient to eradicate these concerns. Thus, practitioners have sought to implement novel methods to ameliorate the construction process. In this regard, design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA) and design for deconstruction (DfD) have gained prominence, as studies have elucidated the methods’ unprecedented potential to wholly transform the construction process and mitigate the unwanted impacts brought about by the industry. This study identified the applications and benefits of DfMA and DfD in construction, as well as recent developments and research gaps, through a literature review, using Scopus as the primary database and MATLAB for conducting data text analytics. The current body of knowledge necessitates a further assessment of the following research gaps: (1) development of standard construction-oriented DfMA guidelines; (2) corroboration of the developed DfMA tools through practical application; (3) integration of these holistic design approaches with emerging technologies, such as additive manufacturing and digital fabrication; (4) comparison of structures constructed using DfMA and DfD with structures built with conventional approaches; (5) comprehensive application of DfD guidelines to structural systems; (6) integration of DfMA and DfD; (7) execution of sustainability assessment studies to evaluate the impact of DfMA and DfD; and (8) identification of solutions to the barriers to DfMA and DfD uptake in construction.

Design for deconstruction (DfD) implementation among design professionals: empirical evidence from Ghana

Design for Deconstruction (DfD) is a technique where a structure is built to allow the reuse of its materials and components in addition to facilitating adaptation and renovation. Few design professionals in the building industry are knowledgeable with DfD implementation. The study examines how DfD is being implemented by design professionals in the Ghanaian construction sector. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain data from design professionals (i.e. Architects and Civil/Structural Engineers), and the data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The findings of the study revealed that there is a low level of DfD practice in the Ghanaian construction industry and this was attributed to the low level of awareness of the concept among design professionals. The findings further revealed that the design professionals believe formal education, training, awareness, industry guidance, and regulations relating to DfD will have the greatest impact on DfD implementation in Ghana. The results of this study shed light on a less explored aspect of DfD implementation in the construction sector. It provides fresh data and new insights into how state-of-the-art DfD is now being implemented in the construction sector.

A design support tool based on building information modeling for design for deconstruction: A graph-based deconstructability assessment approach

Design for deconstruction (DfD) increases reusable components extracted from old structures by considering the ease of deconstruction from a construction project's early stage. However, due to a lack of tools and methods for evaluating DfD performance, quantifying the benefits of DfD for practical application is difficult. This study proposes a tool based on building information modeling for DfD to provide automated DfD performance evaluation results that include the mathematical evaluation score, CO2 emission, and cost. To validate the tool, we conducted a case study, assuming a steel structure design. Accordingly, it enables the development of deconstruction options and designs that reduce CO2 emissions and costs by up to 40.1% and 1.3%, respectively, when compared to initial alternatives. Reuse can reduce CO2 emissions and costs that increase per the deconstruction options. The study highlights the importance of analyzing the environmental load and cost of various deconstruction options that have been excluded from previous studies.

Environmental Performance of Deconstructable Concrete Beams Made with Recycled Aggregates

The construction sector is one of the most energy-intensive and raw-material-demanding human activities and, hence, contributes a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions. As a matter of principle, making the construction sector “greener” is one of the main challenges for policy makers, private companies and the scientific community. For this reason, one of the most promising actions is based on recycling Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) and converting them into secondary raw materials for the construction sector itself. Moreover, the reduction of the environmental impact can be further amplified through the optimization of the production, assembly and deconstruction/reuse procedures and through the maximization of the service life. In this aim, the present work aims at analyzing the environmental performance of duly sized and designed prefabricated Decontructable and Reusable Beam (DRB) incorporating with Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA) assembled by means of an innovative system based on a memory®-steel prestressing technique. The environmental performance is evaluated through Life Cycle Assessment with a cradle-to-gate approach: the analysis of 16 midpoint impact categories was conducted using the methodology proposed by EN15804. In this context, three allocation scenarios for avoided impacts due to reuse (100-0, 50:50 and 0-100) were considered, and a sensitivity analysis was performed. It was verified that due to the higher amount of post-tensioning required for the innovative shape memory alloy steel bars, the DRBs present inferior environmental performance than the Ordinary Beams (ORB). However, when analyzing the reuse scenarios, it was observed that the DRB could have considerably lower impacts, depending on the type of allocation procedure adopted in LCA modeling. This study brings as the main contribution an evaluation and some design guidelines for the development of circular concrete structures based on the principles of Design for Deconstruction (DfD) and the prefabricated process.

Material selection in design for deconstruction using Kano model, fuzzy-AHP and TOPSIS methodology.

During last decade, design for deconstruction (DfD) has attracted the attention of researchers and project managers as an environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional demolition of buildings. Yet, the intensity of raw materials consumption, waste generation and greenhouse gas (GhG) emission in the construction industry proves that current methods of selecting building components have failed to make the deconstruction effectively feasible. Specifically, in the material selection process, most research studies concentrate on assessing environmental and economic aspects while in selecting material for DfD various factors must be considered. To overcome this gap, this study aims to propose a DfD-based material selection model which enables designers to choose materials that make the recyclability and reusability of building components feasible. To this end, the Kano model is first applied to categorize selection criteria identified via a questionnaire. After extracting the weights of criteria by using Fuzzy-Analytical Hierarchy Process, a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution-based multi-criteria decision-making framework is proposed for choosing the best possible alternatives. Based on the research results, the framework enables designers to find decent materials in terms of DfD requirements. A numerical example is also provided to examine the proposed framework for selecting the most appropriate materials for walls.

Effect of recycled aggregate concrete on the seismic behavior of DfD beam-column joints under cyclic loading

The problem of environmental pollution and waste concrete generation will be alleviated if concrete structures can be designed with both recycling and reuse strategies. In this regard, this study employed recycled coarse aggregate as the structural material in a novel beam-column joint with Design for Deconstruction (DfD) connections. Two series cyclic loading tests including pre-loading and re-loading on this frame joint was undertaken and the effect of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) on structural behaviors was carefully evaluated. It is demonstrated that the DfD joint with RAC had favorable integrity and the influence of RAC was acceptable for practical application. Furthermore, the shear force model of the joint core area for RAC beam-column joint with DfD connections was put forward in this study, which showed good agreements with experimental results. Life cycle assessment (LCA) indicated that the carbon emission of the beam-column joint with DfD connections made of RAC increased at construction process but would reduce the total carbon emission from the perspective of lifetime.

Seismic behavior of concrete shear walls with bolted end-plate DfD connections

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the seismic behavior of newly developed concrete shear walls with the bolted end-plate design for deconstruction (DfD) connections, with the aim of applying reused structural components to mid-rise buildings. This DfD connection was characterized by pre-buried end-plates and welding shear studs. The proper design was proposed to facilitate the application for future deconstruction and reconstruction. Four concrete shear walls with different aspect ratios were designed and tested according to a cyclic loading test to evaluate the seismic behavior. The principle of reuse and recycle were firstly both applied to concrete structures in the domain of this research. It can be found that the existence of the proposed DfD connection changed the cracking pattern and failure modes of the concrete shear wall. The interface between the DfD connection and the concrete wall turned to be the weak part of the whole structure. Moreover, the proposed DfD connection had a limited effect on the load bearing and transferring mode for the slender shear wall, while significantly changed the load resistance of the squat shear wall. The disassembly and assembly for the proposed shear wall with DfD connections were calibrated during the test process, proving that deconstruction and reconstruction purpose for this shear wall can be achieved.

BIM-Based End-of-Lifecycle Decision Making and Digital Deconstruction: Literature Review

This article is the second part of a two-part study, which explored the extent to which Building Information Modelling (BIM) is used for End-of-Lifecycle (EoL) scenario selection to minimise the Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW). The conventional literature review presented here is based on the conceptual landscape that was obtained from the bibliometric and scientometric analysis in the first part of the study. Seven main academic research directions concerning the BIM-based EoL domain were found, including social and cultural factors, BIM-based Design for Deconstruction (DfD), BIM-based deconstruction, BIM-based EoL within LCA, BIM-aided waste management, Material and Component Banks (M/C Banks), off-site construction, interoperability and Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). The analysis highlights research gaps in the path of raw materials to reusable materials, i.e., from the deconstruction to M/C banks to DfD-based designs and then again to deconstruction. BIM-based EoL is suffering from a lack of a global framework. The existing solutions are based on local waste management policies and case-specific sustainability criteria selection. Another drawback of these ad hoc but well-developed BIM-based EoL prototypes is their use of specific proprietary BIM tools to support their framework. This disconnection between BIM tools and EoL tools is reportedly hindering the BIM-based EoL, while no IFC classes support the EoL phase information exchange.

Life cycle assessment of concrete structures with reuse and recycling strategies: A novel framework and case study

In the construction industry, reuse and recycling strategies help reducing waste, saving energy and cutting down emissions by converting construction and demolition (C&D) waste into resources. This study proposes a novel framework to guide the life cycle assessment (LCA) of concrete structures with reuse and recycling strategies. The material flow in recycling strategies is clarified explicitly. A new definition of degradation rate is introduced to set a nonlinear allocation rule for reusable components based on the durability feature of concrete structures. Reusable rate and replacement percentage are adopted to provide a convenient way to adjust the type and level of the strategies. As a result, a unified system boundary and corresponding indicator functions can be established for various strategies, combing the closed-loop analysis and the open-loop analysis. In the case study, design for deconstruction (DfD) and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) are taken as examples of reuse and recycling strategies, respectively. With the proposed framework, LCA of various strategy combinations are conducted considering the global warming potential (GWP) and abiotic depletion potential (ADP) indicators. Results show that the maximal environmental benefit of DfD is 1.8–2.8 times compared to that of RAC. When adopting DfD and RAC simultaneously, the environmental benefit level of each strategy will decline, whereas the overall benefits will be increased. LCA with the proposed framework avoids some assumptions in conventional LCA and provides more reliable results for various strategy combinations.

Experimental Study of the Seismic Performance of Concrete Beam-Column Frame Joints with DfD Connections

AbstractThis paper presents an experimental study to investigate the seismic performance of concrete beam-column joints with Design for Deconstruction (DfD) connections, which are characterized by ...

A BIM-based framework for quantitative assessment of steel structure deconstructability

Recently, attention is being focused on Design for Deconstruction (DfD) as one of the most effective structure end-of-life design scenarios. Although several research efforts have dealt with the DfD and reversible buildings design theories for the past few years, the lack of technological support for developing tools to improve DfD to be BIM compliant has been clearly noticed. This research presents a Deconstructability Assessment Scoring (DAS) methodology for quantitative assessment of Steel Structures deconstructability. The proposed methodology takes into consideration a number of steel parameters and their deconstructability. Seven innovative solutions contributing to steel connections deconstructability are considered in the proposed research. Furthermore, steel elements reusable fire-proofing systems are introduced to provide the required fire resistance and deconstructability. The detailed analyses for the selected parameters are adopted and implemented to form the Steel Structure Deconstructability Assessment Scoring (SS-DAS). The proposed methodology is implemented in Autodesk Revit using Dynamo. The proposed innovative solutions are modeled as families to automate the scoring process.

Design for deconstruction using a circular economy approach: barriers and strategies for improvement

This study explores the current practices of Design for Deconstruction (DfD) as a strategy for achieving circular economy. Keeping in view the opportunities accruable from DfD, a review of the literature was carried out and six focus group interviews were conducted to identify key barriers to DfD practices. The results of phenomenology reveal 26 barriers under five key barrier categories. The barrier categories to DfD are ‘lack of stringent legislation and policies’, ‘lack of adequate information at the design stage’, ‘lack of large enough market for recovered components’, ‘difficulty in developing a business case for DfD’, and ‘lack of effective DfD tools’. After this, the study identifies the strategies for overcoming these barriers. The paper, therefore, addresses the need for actions within the construction industry to bring DfD to the fore towards achieving the current global sustainability agenda.